Back of the Envelope

Whew, got this update done just under the wire. For once, I posted it directly, rather than scheduling it, since there wasn't enough time to schedule it.

Sluggy Freelance — So, Pete does a few sprite comics as filler. Even if they're sprite comics, they're funny. But we do get some important information on how this timeless space works before the big fight scene between the villagers, Bun-bun's crew, and Captain Donaly's crew. That ought to be a fun fight.

Day by Day — The MSM's the big target these days, and Bloggers get tons of praise. On the character front, Zed's cell phone buying antics are the best part.

Scary Go Round — I'm not really sure why The Boy's love life is taking center stage right now. Most of these characters I barely recognize, although I did think that scene between Erin and Dark Esther was sweet.

College Roomies from Hell!!! — So Mike's not very forgiving, is he? And if Mike won't forgive April, how the heck are we going to get peace among the Roomies? I really wish April would get over her Mike obsession. There are other fish in the sea, and most of them are nicer than Mike. And in other news, Dave's planning to call Blue. That's sweet, even if he has to borrow Mike's cell phone to do it. Dang, it's hard to be a D&Mer these days.

General Protection Fault — A couple of weeks ago I mentioned the prominence of Christian themes in General Protection Fault. Here we see them coming to the fore more openly, and we see Dr. Akhilesh, the comic's only openly Christian character, caring for Trudy. He really does seem saintly, doesn't he? I am glad to see that Trudy doesn't succeed in her suicide attempt. I'm gladder to see that she isn't going to murder the good doctor. Trudy is a scary chick.

Schlock Mercenary — So, Kevyn manages to con a bunch of scientists into hiring mercenaries for personal protection. Hmm, maybe he should go try to solve the teraport problem now. He really needs to do some more science stuff, and let somebody else take charge of the mercenary stuff for a while. And that's just what he intends to do.

Sluggy Freelance — All right, so we learn where the aliens come from and get an X-Com cameo while we're at it. I think I'm going to like Calix. He has the sort of cynical attitude that befits a primitive encountering advanced technology for the first time.

Day by Day — The MSM, Ward Churchill, and cell phones get the standard mocking. La Shawn Barber, on the other hand, gets a promotion. Well, actually, she probably wouldn't consider that a promotion, but it's cool to see her mentioned.

Scary Go Round — More about The Child this week, although The Boy seems more concerned over his love life. Of course, Ryan's unsanitary living also receives a few swipes, and it looks like Tim and Riley are running for the hills.

College Roomies from Hell!!! — Margaret, asking for help? Begging for it? I'm actually glad to see her deciding she wants to live, not to mention admitting that she needs help for once. It's too bad that Dave's not there, but it would probably cause a relapse in his Margaret obsession. I'm kind of hoping Chester will show up at least. That way Dave could literally be there in spirit. Meanwhile, Dave decides to get some sleep, even if it means inflicting Mike's and Marsha's "fun" on April.

General Protection Fault — Hey, it's the good doctor, the guy who helped the real Trish. I'm glad to see him again. He's pretty cool, even if he's a bit too much of an innocent to deal with Trudy.

Schlock Mercenary — Remind me to bring a band of heavily armed mercenaries next time I go to a scientific conference. Gav--one of them, anyway--has just started talking about a weird, unpenetrable barrier at the center of the galaxy. Let the speculation begin!

Sluggy Freelance — Bun-bun's back! I can't say I'm thrilled with this development. I've never liked Bun-bun, and I was just as happy to let him drop off the face of the earth for a while. Well, this pretty much establishes where we are, outside of time itself, and it looks like Bun-bun is now a Time Pirate. Anyone who runs out of time is frozen in place, so if you want to survive, you have to take what time you can. It's an interesting concept, and it's so like Bun-bun. He uses Calix to kill his untrustworthy first mate, and has the boy become first mate in his place. It remains to be seen how Calix will adapt to the pirating life.

Day by Day — The Iraqi elections are the big story of the week, although the doll held hostage and the report on the UN oil-for-food scandal get a mention as well.

Scary Go Round — The freaky little kid is still lurking around, predicting change but refusing to explain what that means. But most folks are going about their business. Well, except Shelley, as she was fired. And The Boy is dealing with the possible interest of Dark Esther, who looks like a gothy Marilyn Manson fan. All in all, I have no idea what is going on.

College Roomies from Hell!!! — Well, Dave finally makes it to class, only to discover there's a test he didn't know about. So he faints away. (I'm wondering whether there might have been something else aside from the test, like Chester, involved in his fainting.) Marsha and Mike were having a lot of fun when Marsha remembered the test, but they show up too late to take it and find Dave still lying on the floor. You know, I know Dover's supposed to be heartless, but leaving Dave lying on the floor through a two-hour examination is really beyond the pale. In real life, he'd get his butt fired and sued in short order. It remains to be seen whether he gets away with it in the comic. And then, while Dave's feeling sorry for himself, we find Margaret. She thinks she's dying, which she considers a good thing when Satan shows up to cheer her on.

General Protection Fault — Look, it's Trudy! She's still on the run, and this week she dukes it out with an agent of the UGA. Neither of them looks too good in the end, but it looks like Trudy won. Now if she only could have made it more than ten feet afterwards.

Schlock Mercenary — Well, the laying low is over now, as Kevyn's decided he wants to attend a conference. That doesn't sound like such a good idea to me. For one thing, there'll be all those Gavs there. It's not like there is any shortage of the universe's most duplicated man.